Latch construction



Jan. 9, 1951 c. c. FISH ET AL LATCH CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, 1945 FIG.2.

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INVENTORS CARL C.FISH BY CLIFFORD V.JOHNSON N R O T T A Jan. 9, 1951 c. c. FISH ET AL LATCH CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2, 1945 FIG.5.

FIG.3.

FIGS.

INVENTORS CARL C.F|SH "BY CLIFFORD V.JOHNSQN I W n 01/ A ATTO RNE S Patented Jan. 9, 1951 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATCH CONSTRUCTION Carl C. Fish, Detroit, and Clifford V. Johnson, Pontiac, Mich, assignors to Form Stamping and Manufacturing Company, Detroit, corporation of Michigan Mich, a

Application July 2, 1945, Serial No. 602,780

- This invention relates generally to latch mech- 6 Claims. (01. 292 -55) between the bolt and striker reaches excessive proportions.

The present invention overcomes the above ob- .iection by providing a latch mechanism wherein initial manipulation of the latch operating member' relieves the wedging pressure between the bolt and striker prior to actually swinging the bolt to its released position. In accordance with the present invention, the bolt is supported in a manner to drop away from the striker upon initial movement of the latch operating member to release the latch. The arrangement is such that very little effort is required to release the latch bolt from the striker, even though the wedging pressure between the bolt and striker is exceedingly high.

I. The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent as this description proceeds,

especially when considered in connection with the accompanying. drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a latch mechanism embodying the features of this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a part of the latch mechanism shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of another part of the latch mechanism illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view through a part of the latch mechanism and showing the bolt in its operative position;

- 1 Figure 5 is a View s?milar to Figure 4 showing the bolt in its released position; and

s Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 6-8 of Figure 4. s The latch mechanism selected for the purpose of illustrating this invention is shown in the several figures of the drawings as comprising a plate H] having sections II and I2 arranged at substantially right angles to each other. Supported on the outer face of the section H is a pivoted bolt I3 comprising two parts indicated in the drawings by the reference characters 14 and I5.

The part It is pivoted on the section ll of the, plate by means of a pin I6 and has an upwardly opening recess I! in the upper end portion there-;

of. The part I5 forms the head of the bolt and" is provided with a shank portion is which pro: jects intothe recess ll of the part 54. The shank; slidably engages the walls of the recess to enable movement of the head 15 relative to the part l4 and the lower end of the shank is formed witha recess I9 to provide clearance for the pin IS. The top surfaceZEl of the head [5 is shaped to engage a striker indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawings and designated by the reference character 2L. l

A housing 22 for the bolt i3 is suitably secured to the front face of the plate El and is formedwith an opening in the top wall through which the head i5-of the bolt projects. Attention-is called to the fact that the top surface 26 ofthe head IE on the bolt is arcuate in contour and the adjacent face of the striker 2i is correspondingly curved so that when the two surfaces are in contact, the dooron which the latch mechanism is installed is securely held in its closedposition. In actual use, when the bolt and striker are in the relative positions shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, any slight motion of the door or latch mechanism relative to the striker tends to increasethe wedging engagement between the complementary curved faces of the bolt and striker 2!. Thus, shifting movement of the door while in its closed position is ordinarily taken up and the door is firmly held in its closed position.

"The belt i3 is operated by aslide 23 supported on the rear face of the plate I l for vertical sliding movement. The slide .is guided throughout its travel by means of a pair of lugs 24 struck rearwardly from the plate H and respectively engageable with opposite side edges of the slide intermediate the ends of the latter. The upper end of the slide is attached .to'the plate by means ofa pin 25 anchored on the plate I land projecting through a vertically elongated slot 26 formed in theslide 23. The rear end of the pin 25 is riveted over a washer 21, which in turn slidably engages the rear face of the slide 23 and holds the latter inposition on the plate I I. ,The lower end portion of the slide 23 is attached to the head 15 of the bolt [3 by means of a pin 23, which projects through a s1ot29 formed in the plate II and has the front end portion anchored in the head i 5 of the bolt. The rear end of the pin 28 extends through anenlarged opening 3d formed in the slide'23 and is riveted over a washer 3! which engages the rear surface of the slide 23.

Upon reference to Figures 4 and. 5 of the drawings, it will be noted that one wall 33 of the enlarged opening 3| in the slide 23 is inclined with respect to the vertical path of travel of the slide and acts as a cam face for engaging the adjacent side of the pin 28. The bottom wall 34 of the enlarged opening 30 engages the bottom side of the pin 28 to hold the bolt in its extended or operative position shown in Figures 1 and 4 of the drawings. In the above position of the bolt, the pin 28 is also in engagement with the-lower portions of the wall 33 and the latter inclines upwardly in substantial tangential relation to the pin 28. This relative position of the parts is maintained by a spiral spring 35 having one end anchored to the rear wall of the plate ll adjacent the lower end of the latter and having the opposite end engaging the bottom surface of the slide 23.

The slide 23 is moved downwardly against the action of the spring 35 by means of an operating handle 36 positioned at the outer side of the plate [2 and having a shank 37 projecting through the plate l2. In accordance with conventional practice, the shank 31 is connected to aroll-back 38 supported for rocking movement at the inner side of the plate l2 and engageable with a segment 39. The segment 39 is supported for rocking movement at the inner side of the plate l2 and is provided with 2. lug positioned to engage a cooperating lug Al on the vertical slide 23.

It follows from the above construction that rocking movement of the operating handle 36 effects a corresponding rocking movement of the roll-back 38 and the latter swings the segment 39 downwardly to engage the lug 40 thereon with the lug 4| on the slide 23. Due to the clearance provided between the top wall 42 of the enlarged opening 30 in the slide and the adjacent side of the pin 28, initial downward movement of the slide 23 is effected without actually swinging the bolt l3 about the pin I6. However, this initial downward movement of the slide 23 relieves the pin 28 from contact with the wall or cam 33 and enables the head on the bolt to shift slightly in a downward direction relative to the part M of the bolt. As a result, the wedgingaction between the head of the bolt and striker is relieved so that this force need not be overcome by the operator when releasing the latch. Of course, continued downward movement of the slide 23 engages the topwall 42 of the opening 30 with the adjacent side of the pin and swings the bolt to its released position shown in Figure 5 of the drawings.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. A latch mechanism comprising a plate, a bolt having a part supported on the plate for swinging movement and having a head adapted to engage a striker with a wedging engagement, said head supported on the part for swinging movement as a unit with the part and for sliding movement relative to said part toward and away from the striker, a pin projecting laterally from the head, a vertically movable slide having an opening for receiving the pin, spring means normally urging the slide in an upward direction to engage the bottom and an adjacent side wall. of the opening with the pin for holding the head part of the bolt in an extended position relative to the swinging part, said opening being larger than the cross-sectional area of the pin and the side wall aforesaid of the opening being inclined in a direction to relieve the pin from engagement therewith upon initial movement of the slide in a downward direction to permit sufficient displacement of the head relative to the swinging part to relieve the wedging pressure between the bolt head and striker.

2. A latch mechanism comprising a supporting plate, a bolt having a part pivoted on the plate for swinging movement and having a head adapted to engage a striker with a wedging contact, said head being supported on the part for swinging movement as a unit with said part and for sliding movement relative to the part in directions toward and away from the striker, an operating member supported by the plate for movement in opposite directions, yieldable means acting on the operating member for urging the latter in one direction, cooperating engaging means on the bolt head and member operated by the yieldable means to yieldably maintain the bolt head into wedging contact with the striker, means for moving said member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to disengage said surfaces and thereby relieve the contact pressure between the head and striker, and means responsive to continued movement of the operating member against the action of the yieldable means to swing said bolt out of engagement with the striker.

3. A latch mechanism comprising a supporting plate, a bolt having a part pivoted on the plate for swinging movement and having a head adapted t engage a striker with a wedging contact, said head being supported on the part for swinging movement as a unit with said part and for sliding movement relative to the part in directions toward and away from the striker, an operating member mounted on the plate for sliding movement in opposite directions in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of swinging movement of the bolt, spring means acting on the operating member for urging the latter in one direction, cooperating engaging surfaces on the bolt head and member coacting with the spring means to yieldably maintain the bolt head into wedging contact with the striker, means for moving the operating member in a direction against the action of the sprin means to disengage said surfaces and thereby relieve the contact pressure between the bolt head and striker, and additional cooperating engaging surfaces 0n the operating member and bolt head engageable upon continued movement of the operating member in a direction against the action of said spring means to swing said bolt out of engagement with the striker.

i. A latch mechanism comprising a support, a swinging bolt having a part pivoted on the support for swinging movement and having a head adapted to engage a striker with a wedging contact, said-head being supported on the part for i swinging movement as a unit with said part and for sliding movement relative to the part in directions toward and away from the striker, an operating member mounted on the support for sliding movement in opposite directions, yieldable means acting on the operatin member for urging the latter in one direction, cooperating engaging surfaces on the bolt head and member coacting with the yieldable means to yieldably maintain the bolt head into wedging contact with the strik. er, means including a rollback for moving the operating member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to disengage said 7 surfaces and thereby relieve the contact pressure between the bolt head and striker, and means re;

member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to swin said bolt out of engagement with the striker.

5. A latch mechanism comprising a support, a swinging bolt having a part pivoted on the support for swinging movement and having a head adapted to engage a striker with a wedging contact, said head being supported on the part for swinging movement as a unit with said part and for sliding movement relative to the part in directions toward and away from the striker, an operating member mounted on the support for movement in opposite directions, yieldable means actin on the operating member for urging the latter in one direction, cooperating engaging surfaces on the bolt head and member coacting with the yieldable means to yieldably maintain the bolt head into wedging contact with the striker, means for moving the operating member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to disengage said surfaces and thereby relieve the contact pressure between the bolt head and striker, and additional cooperating engaging surfaces on the operatin member and bolt head engageable upon continued movement of said member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to swing said bolt out of engagement with the striker.

6. A latch mechanism comprising a support having angularly related plates, a swinging bolt having a part pivoted on one plate for swinging movement relative to the part in directions toward and away from the striker, a. member mounted on said one plate for sliding movement in opposite directions, spring means acting on said member for urging the latter in one direction, 00- operating engaging surfaces n the bolt head and member coacting with the spring means to yieldably maintain the bolt head into wedging contact with the striker, an operating element pivoted on the other plate for swinging movement and having means engageable with said member for moving the latter in a direction against the action of the spring means t disengage the cooperating engagin surfaces and thereby relieve the contact pressure between the head and striker, and additional surfaces on the member and bolt head engageable upon continued movement of said member in a direction against the action of the yieldable means to swing the bolt out of engagement with the striker.

CARL C. FISH. CLIFFORD v. JOHNSON. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,625 Leger June 23 ,1908 1,416,453 Crum May 16, 1922 1,642,266 I Raw sept. 13, 1927 1,645,492 Vanderlip Oct. 11, 1927 2,078,073 Geshe Apr. 20, 1937 2,143,965 Van Voorhees Jan. 17, 1939 

